Queen leads commemoration of Battle of Trafalgar

EMILY BEHLMANNAssociated Press Writer

Published Saturday, October 22, 2005

PORTSMOUTH, England (AP) -- With the sun setting over this faded port city, Queen Elizabeth II lit a beacon Friday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Britain's Royal Navy defeated the French and Spanish fleets and cemented its naval supremacy for the next century.

Bells tolled aboard British vessels around the world and wreaths were laid at the site of the decisive battle just off Cape Trafalgar in southwestern Spain. In the nearby port of Cadiz, descendants of sailors who fought in the battle joined military leaders to pay homage to the 7,000 who died in the fighting.

While the events were not officially a celebration, many in Britain enjoyed reliving a moment of martial triumph -- when, under Adm. Horatio Nelson, Britannia ruled the waves.

"Trafalgar was vitally important for this country. Otherwise we would all be speaking French now," said Christina O'Farrell, 61, a retiree from this town on England's south coast, still the home port of the Royal Navy.

The victory by an outnumbered British fleet on Oct. 21, 1805, lifted the threat of invasion by the armies of Napoleon -- who ruled both France and Spain -- and helped ensure Britain's place as the world's dominant naval power.It also confirmed Nelson's place as the country's greatest naval hero.

Killed in the battle, his state funeral was the largest ever in Britain, with a 11/2-mile-long procession following his coffin in London. His statue atop a column in London's Trafalgar Square remains one of the city's most famous landmarks.

Friday's events capped a year of commemorations of the battle. In Portsmouth, the queen lit the beacon beside Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory -- the first in a chain of 1,000 lights to blaze across the country.

She then dined in the Great Cabin of the vessel. The menu included smoked salmon tartar with caviar cream and roast beef from Norfolk, Nelson's home county.

"The defeat of the combined French and Spanish fleets lifted the very real threat of an invasion of Britain and it was greeted by the nation with huge relief," she said in a toast to Nelson.

The queen praised Nelson as "a superb tactician and a fearless and determined commander."

Earlier, Nelson's battle-day signal to his fleet -- "England expects that every man will do his duty" -- was hoisted aboard his former ship. Officers laid wreaths on the deck where Nelson was injured and on the spot where he died hours later.

In Cadiz, a solitary bell tolled as representatives of the three navies involved read out the names of the 60 ships that blasted one another with cannon and musket fire. Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono led a religious service at a naval base, where descendants of the fleet commanders laid wreaths as choral music was played.

"It was very moving," said Count Andre de Villeneuve, a fifth generation descendant of the French admiral who commanded the Franco-Spanish fleet that sailed from Cadiz into Cape Trafalgar on that fateful day.

"It shows we don't forget the horror and sacrifice of that battle."

On Sunday, Prince Charles; Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; and other royals were to attend a remembrance service for Nelson at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where Nelson is buried.

"The commemorations have been very moving for all of us and have been a demonstration of the solidarity of seafarers," British Ambassador Stephen Wright said.